(erielack) Train Symbols

["JG at graytrainpix" <graytrainpix_@_hotmail.com>]

Hello again,

I've noticed that every now and then a discussion starts about EL freight 
train symbols.  I became interested in freight symbols back in my younger 
days while hanging out at Rutherford station, where two old guys who used to 
work for the Erie told me tales of 98's and 87's.  I've been meaning to 
revamp my freebie Geocities web site for a long time now and I finally got 
around to it. As part of that effort, I did some research and came up with 
two lists of major EL freight symbols, one for e/b's, one for w/b's.  My 
lists attempt to show what the symbol was, where the train ran to and from, 
approximately when during the EL's 16 year history it ran, what the symbol 
probably stood for, and what kind of traffic and operation the symbol 
represented (e.g. intermodal, general manifest, road local, etc.).  I also 
put up some scans of operational forms and passenger tickets, and also some 
pix.  If you want to take a look, it's at 
http://www.geocities.com/graytrainpix
. (Sorry about the ads, my cash flow situation right now precludes buying 
web space.  However, I was able to access some "back office" space that 
wasn't being used, so once you drill down from the portal, the ads go away.)

As stated on my site, I don't claim to cover every EL freight train name.  I 
decided to "draw the line" so as to include all of the well-recognized 
symbols that appeared in published schedules (e.g., NY-99), plus some 
symbols that regularly appeared on the road but weren't published (e.g., 
HF-98, X-1). Freight symbols on the EL are mostly alpha-numeric (e.g., 
HB-1), but include pure numbers (e.g., 95), so I include some of the 
numbered runs.  I excluded the runs that had operational names that implied 
lower priority, such as "ordinary", "turn", "drop", "pickup", "extra", 
"coal", etc.  Those runs were more contingent on daily operating needs and 
thus were erratic; some days they ran, some days they didn't. Also, there 
were some numbered runs that were divisional switching locals, so I 
disregarded them.

Admittedly, the line between what I included and excluded is somewhat 
arbitrary; there were symbol freights in the published schedules that 
operated only on occasion, and there were secondary freights that you could 
set your watch by, e.g. the Croxton Ordinary (well, at least set your 
sundial by). I included the numbered runs on the Bloomsburg Branch, because 
even though they did a lot of local switching, they operated regularly and 
carried interchange freight for the Reading and possibly the PRR / PC.  
However, I excluded other numbered runs such as the trains on the Lisbon 
Branch, Oil City Branch, New Castle Branch, and Dunkirk Branch, assuming 
those runs to do local work almost exclusively (but I'm open to arguments 
that these were also important symboled freights).  I'd like to learn more 
about the Niagara Falls runs, e.g. as to whether they carried interchange 
and whether they had a regular number or symbol.  If so, then I'd like to 
include them -- but not being familiar with Buffalo operations, I'll leave 
that as an open question for now.  If someone could help me with that, I'd 
appreciate it.

I see that the EL Historical Society plans to post a comprehensive list of 
freight symbols and names on their web site, which will hopefully include 
all of the miscellaneous runs such as the Cementer and the SCX and the 
Paterson Gang and unit coal trains and the hot metal trains.  With the 
ELHS's resources, their list should be the final word.  But for now, my own 
limited list is hopefully a steppingstone.  If you see any obvious mistakes 
or have additional info and would like to make suggestions or comments, my 
e-mail address is shown on the site portal (and on this message).  Thanks, 
and best wishes for a happy 2005.

Jim Gerofsky

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